“When we get stuck in ego, achievements and accomplishments — stuck in self-doubt — stuck in ‘not enough’ syndrome, we need only to remember who we really are… and let go of these attachments” ~Andrea

Did you hear the story of how the Buddha became the Buddha?

Well, before he was a Buddha, he was a Prince named Siddartha Guatama. Prince Siddartha grew up sheltered and protected within the walls of the palace because his father didn’t want him to know the pain of suffering and death. But one day as a young man, the prince ventured out into the world, curious to learn what existed beyond the palace walls. He found pain, suffering and death and so he vowed to discover a way to put an end to all this suffering and so began a long arduous quest for enlightenment.

He tried EVERYTHING and nothing worked.

One day, he chose a bodhi tree and declared that he would sit beneath this tree until he found the way.

As you can imagine, the God of the Underworld, Mara, didn’t really want an end to his reign so he devised a plan to seduce the Prince Siddartha out from under that tree. Mara sent his 3 most beautiful daughters (Lust, Fulfillment, and Regret) to appeal to the young prince’s desires.

It didn’t work. Prince Siddartha had already let go of attachment.

So then Mara decided to scare the prince out from under the tree. He sent a legion of monstrous demons

The spears and arrows fell to the ground and turned to lotus flower blossoms at his feet. Prince Siddartha had already let go of fear.

And then Mara got crafty. He went to the prince himself and whispered in his ear, “You’re supposed to be a prince and one day, a king. How could you abandon your duty to your people and be so self-centered? Pursuing this thing called “enlightenment” — how selfish! Who do you think you are anyway?”

And Prince Siddartha felt the pangs of self-doubt — the most difficult challenge of all!

He knew he couldn’t face it alone, so he reach out his hand and touched the earth beneath him. He called out to the Earth Goddess and asked her to bear witness to his right to be here.

In that moment, the Earth rose to affirm his presence, Mara bowed in defeat, and Siddartha received the gift of enlightenment. He became the Buddha.

So maybe you didn’t know this story about the Buddha, but maybe you’ve heard of Brene Brown, author of Daring Greatly and most recently, Rising Strong.

“‘The only unique contribution we will make in this world will be born out of creativity.” ~Brene Brown

The problem is that, according to Brene’s research, 85% of people are carrying shame around them and 50% of those people have shame wounds specifically around creativity.

The problem is that shame leads to self-doubt and when we are mired in self-doubt, it’s pretty hard to boldly share our true selves or make our creative work. So then what contribution can we possibly make?

I want to hear from you. If you’re listening in iTunes, PLEASE leave a review. It’s how iTunes decides which shows people find when they are searching for specific topics like this one.

Also send me a message! What do you think so far? What’s your greatest impostor moment? Email your written comments or leave a voicemail using SpeakPipe — and when you do, I just may read the message or play your voice on a future episode.

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What’s a Creative Impostor?

You’ve probably felt it — that nagging feeling of doubt when you’re about to create something new?

The voice in your head that says “Who do you think you are?”

That “paralysis by analysis” when you feel like you just need to learn 5 more things before you’re ready…

I know I have.

YOU MIGHT BE A CREATIVE IMPOSTOR IF…

You are doing something totally new to you,

You are creating something from nothing,

You are designing the work and life you desire,

You are setting out on the journey even though you can’t see all the way down the path…

PODCAST: features interviews with creative, successful artists, entrepreneurs, performers, healers and visionary leaders along with my own personal stories, tips and tools to help you stop feeling like a fake (based on my own missteps and happy accidents), own your successes, and share your unique creative brilliance with world!

PODCAST ENVY: coaching & training to make your OWN podcast the envy of everyone else (so you can stop being jealous of mine!)

COMMUNITY: online and in Chicago because safety in numbers!

SELF-AWARENESS: meditation, yoga, tarot, essential oils… just enough of the woo-woo magic to keep it real and a little mysterious…